POLITICAL RELATIONS
BAHRAIN
1. Bahrain king congratulates Modi
Manama, Monday, 2 June 2014
The king of Bahrain congratulated Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his victory in the elections and wished him success.
Source: Business Standard, New Delhi

IRAQ
2. India concerned about events in Iraq
New Delhi, Saturday, 14 June 2014
A senior Indian official said, “We are watching the events unfold in Iraq. But it is not our cup of tea (to get involved)”.
Source: Business Standard, New Delhi

3. Coordinating with India to evacuate stranded Indians: Iraq
New Delhi, Saturday, 21 June 2014
Iraqi Ambassador to India Ahmad Tahseen Ahmed Berwari said that the Iraqi authorities are working in close cooperation and coordination with India to evacuate Indians stuck in the Iraqi cities due to the ongoing crisis in the country.
Source: Business Standard, New Delhi; See Also: DNA, Mumbai

4. Centre hopes that Iraq crisis will not affect oil supplies in India
Srinagar, Wednesday, 25 June 2014
The government said that the situation in Iraq was a matter of concern and hoped that the turmoil would not affect the oil supplies to India and Minister of State for Defence, Rao Inderjit Singh said “Our oil pipeline comes from Southern Iraq. So far the terrorist have not targeted this pipeline but the government is keeping a close watch on the issue.”
Source: Business Standard, New Delhi

5. Swaraj to seek Gulf nations' help to rescue Indians abducted in Iraq
New Delhi, Saturday, 28 June 2014
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj convened a meeting of all Indian envoys in Gulf countries and their ambassadors to India to assess the situation in Iraq and sought their assistance in its rescue efforts for the 40 Indian nationals who had been abducted by the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).
Source: Business Standard, New Delhi

ISRAEL
6. Pranab Mukherjee congratulates new Israel President
New Delhi, Friday, 13 June 2014
President Pranab Mukherjee congratulated his counterpart Reuven Rivlin on his election as the President of Israel.
Source: Business Standard, New Delhi

OMAN
7. India, Oman may discuss Deep-sea Pipeline Project
New Delhi, Tuesday, 3 June 2014
Sources claimed that India and Oman are expected to resume talks on the possibility of a deep sea pipeline. As the technology had advanced, India wants to reconsider a deep sea pipeline.
Source: The New Indian Express, Chennai

8. India, Oman discuss ways to consolidate bilateral relations
New Delhi, Tuesday, 3 June 2014
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj held talks with her Omani counterpart Yusuf Bin Alawi Bin Abdullah and discussed ways to further consolidate the strong bilateral relations and enhance project exports from India. This was the first visit by any foreign dignitary to India after the Narendra Modi-led government assumed office.
Source: The Economic Times, New Delhi; See Also: Business Standard, New Delhi

TURKEY
9. India, China and Turkey endorse Palestinian unity government
Bethlehem, Tuesday, 3 June 2014
The new Palestinian unity government has received welcome endorsements from India and others within a day of Palestinian President Abbas swearing in a cabinet of 17 technocrats.
Source: Ha'aretz, Jerusalem

ECONOMIC RELATIONS
IRAN
10. India plans more transparent Iran oil payments – sources
New Delhi, Thursday, 19 June 2014
India planned to clear some pending oil payments to Iran via UAE central bank, under a new payment system that would allow Washington to track the flow of funds closely.
Source: Reuters, UK; See Also: Business Standard, New Delhi

ISRAEL
11. Indian businesspersons announce grant to promote Hindi in Israel
Tel Aviv, Monday, 2 June 2014
To promote Hindi in Israel, Indian businessmen have announced a grant of about US$ 33,000 for students learning the language, during the World Hindi Day Celebration at Tel Aviv University.
Source: Business Standard, New Delhi

TURKEY
12. OVL ties up with Turkey's national oil company
Mumbai, Friday, 20 June 2014
ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) has entered into a MoU with the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) for cooperation between the two national oil companies in the hydrocarbon sector.
Source: Business Standard, New Delhi

MISCELLANEOUS ISSUES
UAE
13. Varkey Group acquires stake to enter UAE higher education
Dubai, Tuesday, 3 June 2014
Leading K-12 Education provider Varkey Group has announced the acquisition of a significant holding in Dubai's International Horizons College (IHC). Chairperson of the Group Sunny Varkey said his company's goal was to expand the AHC platform to establish similar pathways to reputed universities in the world's most desirable destinations for higher education, with the ultimate objective of having their respective campuses in Dubai.
Source: Business Standard, New Delhi

BAHRAIN
14. Indian man living in Bahrain for 23 years dies
Dubai, Wednesday, 4 June 2014
A 58-year old Indian man who lived in solitude for 23 years in Bahrain without leaving the country even once has died. His burial took place in his adopted country Bahrain.
Source: Business Standard, New Delhi

IRAQ
15. Families of Indians stranded in Iraq to meet External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj again
New Delhi, Sunday, 29 June 2014
Family members of Indians stranded in Iraq have said that they would be leaving for New Delhi soon to meet with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.
Source: DNA, Mumbai

COMPILED BY MANJARI SINGH

Manjari Singh is a doctoral candidate in School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.  Email

As part of its editorial policy, the MEI@ND standardizes spelling and date formats to make the text uniformly accessible and stylistically consistent. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views/positions of the MEI@ND. Editor, MEI@ND: P R Kumaraswamy